In the medical field, the disposal of medical sharps waste is a known hazard. There are a large number of areas in a given healthcare provider environment where sharp medical devices are used and once used, the disposal of the soiled sharp represents a relatively hazardous activity. A large number of products have evolved to address these issues.
Perhaps one of the areas of most concern is where unsupervised non-professionals and patients overlap with the provision of healthcare services. In these areas, the hazard in multiplied due to the fact that many non-professionals are not fully informed of the hazardous nature of contaminated medical sharps, are not on guard to the potential hazards and healthcare professionals may be distracted by the interface with patients and/or visitors. A good example of this environment is the hospital room or the examination room in a doctor's office. In this environment, use of medical sharps is routine, as for administering medication through an I.V. or hypodermic syringe and often patients and other non-professionals are left unsupervised for periods of time. In this context, the question of what to do with the used sharp arises.
One option would be to remove the used sharp from the room; however, such an option as been determined to be unsatisfactory, since the transport of the used sharp to another location results in more exposure to the hazard. The preferred option is to dispose of the sharp in a location proximal to its use, thus minimizing any transport hazard.
The proximal disposal of sharps in patient rooms has spawned a host of specialized sharps disposal containers. These containers are primarily designed to allow for the easy disposal of a sharp in a manner that doesn't require excess effort or exposure to the sharp portion of the device and in which the disposed of sharp cannot be subsequently accessed. In most instances, the disposal device consists of a non-disposable cabinet or support that is more or less permanently affixed to a surface in the room (usually affixed to the wall with some type of anchor such as screws) and a disposable container that fits within or is attached to the cabinet or support.
Typically, the disposable container utilizes some type of door that prevents unobstructed access to the interior of the container, but allows relatively easy disposal of the sharp. For example, mailbox style doors are quite common in which the door incorporates an area to place a used sharp. Once the used sharp is placed in position, the door is moved to a second position in which the sharp is dropped into the interior of the container. In this manner, the interior of the container is never completely open to the room and the sharp can be disposed of with one simple motion. In some mailbox door versions of a container, the door is counterbalanced so that the user never need operate the door, the weight of the sharp on the door caused the door to rotate and drop the sharp and, once dropped the door returns to the ready for use position.
In addition to a safety door mechanism, most in room sharps containers also incorporate some mechanism for insuring that the sharp, once disposed, cannot be retrieved. Often this mechanism is a tortuous path that the sharp follows into the interior of the container. This path typically reduces the chances that the sharp can be returned to an area proximal the door and also prevents the entrance of hands and fingers into the interior of the container where the disposed of sharps reside. Often, this path is designed cooperatively with the safety door to provide further protection and avoid access to the interior of the container.
As a final safety feature, many in-room sharps containers incorporate automatic, mechanical full indications. Obviously, if the container is overfilled, it is likely that one or more of the safety mechanisms described above will not function properly. For example, if a container is overfilled, the tortuous path might back up and allow contaminated sharps to remain proximate the opening or even protrude through the opening allowing for the opportunity for injury. Alternative, the overfilled container might prevent closing of the safety door, allowing a sharp to protrude from the opening and, again, provide an opportunity for sharps injury. In many of the in-room units, the geometry of the safety door and the interior access prevention geometry cooperate such that when the container is filled (or overfilled), the last sharp will obstruct the return path of the safety door thus holding it in a closed position. Often, this portion of the door is also provided with visual indicia to indicate that the container is full. Thus, the healthcare provide only need secure the lock on the container, remove it from the permanent fixture and dispose of it properly.
Despite all of the above-described safety features, thousands of patients and healthcare workers are injured by contaminated sharps in patient rooms every year. Although there are a number of causes, a large number of such injuries are the result of the interface with the in room sharps disposal containers and, a significant percentage, if not majority, are due to continued use or attempted use of filled or overfilled containers.